Hand wardrobe trunk



Jan. 28, 1930. G. w. WOODS HAND WARDROBE TRUNK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 18, 1927 l NvEN-rok: Md lV-zwooai. HTTORNEY-E Jan. 28, 1930.

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HAND WARDROBE TRUNK 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed Aug. 18, 1927 lNVENT FE Q r/dna WW HT+ORNE v.5

Patented Jan. 28, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HAND WARDROBE TRUNK Application filed August 18, 1927.

This invention relates to hand luggage of the kind that is used for carrying coats, suits and dresses and which is designed with a view to permitting garments to be carried without wrinkling.

The main obj eot of my invention is to provide a wardrobe trunk which is of such size and weight that it can be carried by hand and stored under a car seat or other small space,

and which is of such design that several suits of clothes or several dresses and also under wear, shirts, and other articles of personal adornment, and toilet articles can be carried in same without liability of the garments wrinkling.

Another object is to provide a hand wardrobe trunk, which is of such design that when it is open the suits or dresses in same will be suspended vertically from garment hangers 2 the same as in the conventional wardrobe trunk, and when it is closed said garments will be held in such a manner that they cannot shift around or drop off the garment hangers. Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

To this end I have devised a hand wardrobe trunk that is composed of a body portion equipped preferably with one or more trays or compartments for receiving underwear, shirts, toilet accessories and the like, and a movable lid equipped with rails or tracks on which a plurality of garment hangers are mounted. The body portion is substantia-lly box-shaped and is intended to be arranged in a horizontal position when the trunk is open, and the lid is hinged or pivotally mounted on an extension 011 one of the vertical walls of said body portion, preferably, the wall that constitutes the bottom of the trunk when the trunk is being carried or arranged in an upright position with the carrying handle at the upper side of the trunk. The lid is provided with an end flange and two side flanges that are arranged in abutting relationship with three of the walls of the body portion when the trunk is closed, and the free ends of said side flanges are adapted to abut against the extension on i the body portion to which the lid is hinged.

Serial No. 213,846.

It is preferable to proportion the body p0rtion and the lid so that when the trunk is open, with the lid arranged in a vertical position, the lower end portions or bottom portions of the garments suspended from the hangers will project into the body portion of the trunk. Any suitable means can be used to confine the garments in the lid and in the section of the body portion adjacent the hinge oi the lid, but I prefer toequip the trunk with a structure that virtually forms a substantially L-shaped follow device that co-operates with the lid and with the body portion to hold the garments against movement when the trunk is in transit. In the form of my invention herein illustrated said L-shaped follow device is formed by a follow board removably mounted in the lid and provided at its lower end with a hinged section that projects downwardly into the body portion, and a tray removably mounted in the body portion in such a way that it cooperates with two right-angularly-disposed walls of the body portion to form a substantially L-shaped space whose vertical leg is in longitudinal alignment with the garment receiving space of the lid when the trunk is open.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a perspective view of a hand wardrobe trunk, constructed in accordance with my invention, showing the trunk closed.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the body portion, with the lid removed.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the lid with the follow board in the lid broken away so as to show the extension on the end wall of the body portion to which the lid is hinged; and

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the trunk, showing the body portion and lid in the positions which they occupy when the trunk is open.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A designates the body portion of my im roved hand wardrobe trunk, and B designates the lid. Said body portion is of substantially box-shape and is intended to be arranged in hcniiscmtal position. when the trunk is open,

as shown in Figure 4. It comprises four vertical walls, one of which is provided on its outside with a handle 1, and the opposed vertical wall being provided with an extension 3 that projects upwardly a considerable distance above the to edges of the three remaining walls of Salt body portion. The lid B is provided with an end flange 4 and two side flanges 5 that are arranged in abutting relationship with three of the vertical walls of the body portion A when the trunk is closed, said lid being pivotally connected at its lower end by means of a hinge 6 to the extension 3 on the body portion, and the free ends of said side flanges 5 being so arrange-d that they will but against said extension 3 when the trunk is closed. The lid B is provided at its upper end with rails or tracks 7 of the extension type or any other design, on which garment hangers 8 are removably mounted, as shown more clearly in Figure 3, thereby permitting garments to be suspended vertically from the hangers 8 during the operation of packing the trunk, or when the lid B is raised, as shown in Figure 4, so as to serve as a wardrobe for suits, coats or dresses. \Vhile the size of the body portion A and lid B may vary, it is preferable to proportion said parts so that when the trunk is open the lower portion of the garments that are suspended from the hangers 8 will be arranged in the section of the body portion that is adjacent the hinge of the lid B. In order that the trunk may be used for carrying relatively long garments, such as womens coats and dresses, or mens overcoats, the section of the body portion adjacent the hinge of the lid is designed so as to form a substantially L-shaped space whose vertical leg is in vertical alignment with the garment space in the lid B when the trunk is open.

Any means can be used to prevent the garments from shifting around or dropping off the hangers 8 when the trunk is in transit, but I prefer to equip the lid B with a removable follow board C, formed from substantially rigid material and provided at its lower end with a hinged section C, also formed from substantially rigid material, that rejects downwardly into the body portion 1 the hinge 9 of said follow board being formed by a piece of. fabric or other flexible material arranged in such relationship with the hinge 6 of the lid that when the lid is moved downwardly into its closed position, the two substantially rigid parts of the follow board will assume a position at substantially right angles to each other, thereby causing the garments to fold over the flexible hinge of the follow board and remain in proper position between the follow board and the opposed walls of the lid and the body portion of the trunk. In view of the fact that the lower ends or free ends of the side flanges 5 of the lid B are spaced a considerable distance above the top edges of the vertical walls of the body portion when the trunk is open, it is preferable to equip the trunk with some means that will effectively prevent the garments from spreading laterally and becoming jammed between the free ends of the flanges 5 and the extension 3 on the body portion that carries the lid when the lid is moved downwardly into its closed position. In the trunk herein illustrated the means that is used for this purpose consists of flexible flaps 10 secured to the extension 3 on the body portion adjacent the ends of said extension and combined with a strap or other element 11 that can be arranged transversely of the hinged section C of the follow board in front of same after the garments have been suspended from the hangers 8 and the follow board arranged in operative position. \Vhen the lid is moved downwardly into its closed position the follow board, the flaps 10 and the transversely-disposed member 11 co-operate with each other to confine the garments in position and cause the lower end portions of the garments to fold smoothly without liability of wrinkling or becoming caught between the lid and the body portion of the trunk.

The body portion A is preferably provided with a transversely-disposed partition 12 that divides it into two main compartments, one of which is intended to be used for receiving shirts, underwear or other articles of clothing that can be held in position by straps, tapes or bands 13 arranged transversely of a clamping device 14, and the other compartment being adapted to receive a removable tray 15 mounted on cleats or flanges 16 on the body portion. The tray 15 is so proportioned and arranged that it virtually acts as a follow device to hold the lower end portions of the garments that extend downwardly into the body portion A of the trunk. Accordingly, said tray 15 may be said to co-operate with the follow board C to form a substantially L-shaped follow device when the trunk is in its open position, that changes automatically into a substantially D-shaped follow device that cooperates with the body portion and the lid of the trunk to hold the garments in an orderly manner and hold them securely in position without liability of wrinkling, the folds in the garments coming at the lower left hand edge of the tray 15, looking at Figure 4;, and over the flexible part 9 of the follow board. Tabs 17 provided with conventional glove fasteners or spring snaps are used to hold the cover of the tray 15 closed and the follow board C is retained in position by means of turn buttons 18 carried by blocks 19 that are arranged adjacent the upper end of the lid B, as shown in Figure 3, the follow board having holes in same through which said turn buttons project. The lid B is held in its vertical position and is prevented from swinging back too far by means of links 20, pivotally connected at 21 to the lid and provided with elongated slots 22 that receive pins 23 on the body portion, as shown in Figure 4.

A luggage device of the kind above described can be carried conveniently by hand, it can be stored under a car seat or in any similar small space, 'and it is large enough and of such design that it can be used for carrying several suits of clothes or dresses and other necessary articles of Wearing apparel or toilet accessories for a short trip, without liability of the garments becoming wrinkled.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A hand Wardrobe trunk, comprising a body portion adapted to occupy a horizontal position when the trunk is open and provided on one of its walls with an upwardly projecting extension, a lid hinged to said extension and provided with an end flange and side flanges that are arranged in abutting relationship with three walls of the body portion when the lid is closed, garment hangers arranged adjacent the upper end of the lid, a follow device arranged in spaced relation with the extension on the body portion and provided with a flexible part over which the garments fold when the lid is moved into its closed position, and means combined with said extension and follow device for preventing the garments from spreading laterally when the lid is closed.

2. A hand wardrobe trunk, comprising a body portion adapted to occupy a horizontal position when the trunk is open and provided with compartments, an upwardly projecting extension on one wall of said body portion, a lid hinged to said extension and adapted to be arranged in an upright position when the trunk is open, tracks in said lid arranged adj acent the upper end of same, garment hangers on said tracks, a follow board in the lid provided at its lower end with a hinged part that projects downwardly into the body portion, flaps attached to said extension, a strap or the like secured to said flaps and adapted to be arranged transversely across the front side of the hinged part at the lower end of the follow board, and a removable tray in one section of the body portion that co-operates with the hinged part of said follow board to hold the garments in position.

GARLAND W. WOODS. 

